Softball Headline

Following an 11-0 mid-week run-rule over non-conference
opponent USC Upstate, the No. 3 Florida softball team will swing back into
conference action with a three-game home series versus the Arkansas Razorbacks
this weekend at Katie SeasholePressly
Stadium. First pitch Friday is slated for 6 p.m. ET, while game two will be at
approximately 8:30 directly following. Game three will take place Saturday at 3
p.m.

Florida (28-3, 4-2 SEC), which put together a combined
one-hit shutout against the Upstate Spartans Wednesday, will continue its
eight-game home stand with the three-game set against Arkansas (21-10, 0-3
SEC), and the Orange and Blue enter the series with a 15-game win streak over
the Hogs. Florida went 3-0 against Arkansas in Fayetteville last season and the
Gators own an 18-5 advantage over the Razorbacks in Gainesville.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22: Rowdy Reptiles can check in for 3 points starting at 5:30 p.m.
on the KSP concourse behind home plate. One lucky Rowdy Reptile will win a KINDLE!

FRIDAY SOCIAL MEDIA CHALLENGE: ROWDY REPTILES AND GATOR FANS in attendance respond to three
TWITTER (@GatorZoneSBall) challenges, one pregame, one
in the first inning and one in the third inning. Prizes are as follows:

ØPrizes for Pregame Twitter Scavenger Hunt: 1 Softball visor and 1 water bottle for the winner

§Look out for the trivia questions 15 minutes before
Friday’s game, in the middle of the 1st inning, and
in the middle of the 3rd inning

§Reply @GatorZoneSBall with your
answers to the questions, along with a picture of you in the Katie SeasholePressly Stadium and #FLSBall (This is NOT required for the trivia question
posted 15 minutes before each selected game)

§@GatorZoneSBall will randomly
choose a winner who answers correctly and tweet back

§Collect your prize at the Marketing Table behind the press
box!

LAST TIME OUT FOR FLORIDA

Florida enters the weekend series against Arkansas
following a quick five-inning, 11-0 win over USC Upstate Wednesday in mid-week
non-conference action. Florida junior ace Hannah Rogers (Lake Wales,
Fla.) and sophomore hurler Alyssa Bache (Clearwater, Fla.) combined for
a one-hit shutout, UF’s 13 combined one-hitter
program history, as the Orange and Blue improved to 28-3 overall on the season
Wed. UF put up a three-spot in the first inning, while batting around in the
third for a five-hit, eight run stanza, fueled by reigning co-SEC Player of the
Week, sophomore Lauren Haeger’s (Peoria,
Ariz.) homer and double. The mercy rule was Florida’s ninth of the season,
while the shutout was the Gators’ 11th. Florida boasts a 4-2 record in SEC
play, most recently taking the series against Tennessee last weekend in the
Gators’ last conference action. Rogers leads UF in the circle (1.28 ERA) with
103 Ks in 109.1 innings pitched. Freshman Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.)
is batting .400 on the season with seven doubles, five triples and three
homers. The leadoff batter is 24-for-25 in stolen bases this year.

SCOUTING ARKANSAS

Arkansas enters the weekend series with the Gators at
21-10 overall on the season, while the Razorbacks are 0-3 in league play thus
far, having dropped their first conference series at No. 4/5 Texas A&M last
weekend. Arkansas will continue an eight-game road streak in Gainesville after
playing two mid-week games at Savannah State in Georgia March 19 and 20. The
Razorbacks convincingly defeated Savannah State Tuesday, 10-0, in six innings
as sophomore pitcher Kimmy Beasley tossed a
no-hitter. Arkansas returned Wednesday to down Savannah State in run-rule
fashion, 14-1, in five, fueled by a Nicole Schroeder grand slam and a stellar
pitching performance from Chelsea Cohen. Cohen went the distance with a
two-hitter and nine strikeouts on the evening.

Sophomore Devon Wallace paces the Razorbacks at the plate
with a .472 clip, eight doubles and nine homers. Wallace leads an Arkansas
offense that has six players hitting over .300 on the season so far. Junior
Ashley Martindale is the Hogs’ biggest threat on the base paths with 12-13
stolen bases. Wallace is a perfect 9-9 on the base paths.

Beasley leads Arkansas with a team-best 1.92 ERA in the
circle, while Cohen has pitched a bulk of the innings (80.0), with 100 Ks (2.54
ERA). Beasley has 69 strikeouts in 47.1 innings pitched. Senior Hope McLemore
(1.98 ERA) and freshman Kelly Young (2.25 ERA) have also split time in the
circle for the Hogs, McLemore with 24 Ks through 35.1 IP and Young with 26
strikeouts in 28.0 IP.

Following the weekend conference series with the
Razorbacks, the Gators will host Sunshine State rival FSU in a non-conference
mid-week clash at Katie SeasholePressly
Stadium Wednesday, March 27. The game will be broadcast live on SunSports/FS Florida. UF will then hit the road to finish
out the month of March with a SEC series at Ole Miss March 29-31 before
returning back to Gainesville for a five-game home stand April 3-